FILM FORMER
Maltodextrin
- film former
A starch fragment that soaks up oil and water, which is what puts it in dry shampoos. It also carries spray-dried plant extracts and leaves a light film.
- products in our library
- 243
- of researched products
- 4%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #22
- most common in
- Shampoo
- in water
- Water-soluble
At a glance
Four things worth knowing about how this ingredient behaves on hair.
How much of it is left on hair between washes.
What it takes to get it off the hair again.
What the polymer class can do, not what any bottle claims.
How well the film survives damp air, as a class.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses clean | 5 of 5 |
| Hold | Not recorded | not recorded |
| Humidity resistance | Not recorded | not recorded |
What it does for a formula
What Maltodextrin does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
The film is what holds a shape once the water has gone.
How firmly depends on the polymer class and how much of it is used.
Keeps a solid or a paste from crumbling or separating.
Included to reduce a greasy feel rather than to condition.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Rinses out with water alone, so it does not build up on hair between washes.
Where it appears
Where it appears
One row per product category in our library: how many products list it, what share of that category that is, and where it typically sits on the label.
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Shampoo
53 products
|
secondary · #22 | |
Conditioner
41 products
|
secondary · #26 | |
Scalp treatment
30 products
|
secondary · #21 | |
Leave-in
22 products
|
secondary · #25 | |
Mask / treatment
19 products
|
secondary · #22 | |
Styler: volumizer
11 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Dry shampoo
10 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Heat protectant
10 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: curl cream
8 products
|
secondary · #26 | |
Styler: gel
8 products
|
secondary · #21 |
13 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: mousse
7 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: hairspray
5 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Co-wash
4 products
|
secondary · #24 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
3 products
|
secondary · #22 | |
Finisher: serum
2 products
|
secondary · #25 | |
Styler: edge control
2 products
|
secondary · #31 | |
Styler: lotion
2 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Finisher: oil
1 product
|
secondary · #19 | |
Finisher: shine spray
1 product
|
secondary · #23 | |
Lightener
1 product
|
supporting · #6 | |
Styler: paste
1 product
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: refresh spray
1 product
|
secondary · #15 | |
Styler: texture spray
1 product
|
secondary · #16 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 53 | 3% | 22 | 4 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 41 | 4% | 26 | 6 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 30 | 10% | 21 | 4 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 22 | 3% | 25 | 11 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 19 | 3% | 22 | 1 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 11 | 8% | 14 | 3 | secondary |
| Dry shampoo | 10 | 8% | 12 | 2 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 10 | 5% | 14 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 8 | 4% | 26 | 10 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 8 | 3% | 21 | 16 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 7 | 3% | 14 | 2 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 5 | 2% | 12 | 6 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 4 | 4% | 24 | 17 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 3 | 4% | 22 | 19 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 2 | 1% | 25 | 14 | secondary |
| Styler: edge control | 2 | 5% | 31 | 26 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 2 | 6% | 11 | 5 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 1 | 0% | 19 | 19 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 1 | 1% | 23 | 23 | secondary |
| Lightener | 1 | 33% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Styler: paste | 1 | 1% | 14 | 14 | secondary |
| Styler: refresh spray | 1 | 3% | 15 | 15 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 1 | 1% | 16 | 16 | secondary |
We have not researched differences by product type yet. The reading below comes from where it sits on the labels in our library.
Position footprint
Every listing in our library, by position on the label.
| Positions | Zone | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Leading | 4 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 19 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 41 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 92 |
| 26+ | Trace | 87 |
How to read this
US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order.
So position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
Who should pay attention
Formulation guidance for specific hair conditions, limited to the label positions where it applies. It is not a conclusion about any finished product, or about you.
Takes up oil at the root, which is where fine hair goes flat first.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
How rigid the finish is depends on which polymer it is and what the formula pairs with it, not on there being one.
Read from this ingredient’s chemical class. Where we have researched the ingredient itself, that reading replaces the class one.
Why it matters to shoppers
What seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- a style that holds
- a solid product that holds together
- oil absorption
- a rinse-clean feel
- an exact safety score (we do not publish one for any ingredient)
- how a finished product performs, which depends on the whole formula, not one line of it
- the exact percentage in a bottle, because label position never converts into a number
- a secondary film former, listed below the main ingredients in our shampoos
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- that a product is right or wrong for you
We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
Commonly paired with
The ingredients that most often appear alongside this one in our library. We leave out the near-universal ones, because they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 106
- Tocopherol · 103
- Caprylyl Glycol · 92
- Propanediol · 80
- Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice · 77
- Benzyl Alcohol · 68
- Tocopheryl Acetate · 56
- Sodium Hydroxide · 55
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 55
- Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract · 52
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to soften the strand, deliver a stated effect, and hold on to water.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Living Proof · Styler
Full Texturizing Foam - 5.0 oz
#2 on the label · $6.80/oz
SHAZ & KIKS · Dry shampoo
Rice+Chai Dry Shampoo Mist
#2 on the label · $8.50/oz
Sexy Hair · Styler
Big Creme 2 Powder Play
#3 on the label · $6.46/oz
Christophe Robin · Scalp treatment
Fortifying Scalp Serum with Amaranth Peptides
#4 on the label · $35.29/oz
Grow Gorgeous · Scalp treatment
Hair Density Serum Intense
#4 on the label · $25.00/oz
Olaplex · Heat protectant
Volumizing Blow Dry Mist
#4 on the label · $5.95/oz
Ranavat · Shampoo
Regenerative Veda⁴ Bond Complex Shampoo
#4 on the label · $6.00/oz
Curl Junkie · Styler
Spiral Lotion Hair Styling Creme
#5 on the label · $3.00/oz
Color Brilliance by ion · Lightener
Powder Lightener
#6 on the label · $6.29/oz
Phyto · Scalp treatment
PHYTOCYANE Densifying Treatment for Progressive Hair Thinning - Women
#6 on the label · $500.00/oz
R+Co · Styler
BACKBEND Workable Hold + Non-Aerosol Hairspray
#6 on the label · $8.57/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Maltodextrin
- absorbent
- binder
- maltodextrin
For your hair?
Whether Maltodextrin matters for your hair depends on your hair.
the 8th most-listed film former or thickener in our libraryWhat this ingredient does, and where it sits on the labels we have researched.
A verdict on any product that contains it, and never a safety grade.
We do not physically test your hair. Everything above comes from the ingredient lists in our library and from published references. The consultation is what turns it into a plan.
References
Seed entry, sourcing in progress Written from our reference work; primary sourcing is still being attached.
No published source is attached to this entry yet.
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library: 243 of 6816 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are levels, not scores. Each one comes from what kind of ingredient it is (its chemical class, charge and solubility) or from where it sits on the labels we have.
- US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order. Position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
- The prominence bands (leading, supporting, secondary) are the same ones the product pages use to read a single label, applied here to the median position across a category.
- We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
- Identifiers and references appear only when a published source is attached to this entry. Without one, we leave the row out rather than fill it in.
- This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
- Entry last updated 2026-09-22. Product-page methodology: the product library.
